Chapter 370
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 370
Chapter Title: The Mentor and the Phantom
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Seojun waited for Kim Hanseok, scrolling through news articles on his phone. In contrast to the chilly weather outside, the internet was ablaze with all sorts of articles.
[Kim Jongho × Lee Jiseok, currently filming the movie ‘Hanpan’!]
[Kim Jongho and Lee Jiseok to star in Director Choi Daeman’s new film!]
[Auditions over! Actor Lee Seojun’s casting confirmed!]
[What is actor Lee Seojun’s next project?]
[Marine Company’s new hero, Phantom, has arrived!]
[The start of a new hero series, ‘Phantom’!]
[‘Phantom’ premieres this Saturday!]
-Kim Jongho and Lee Jiseok, it’s been a while since they were in something together!
=Plus, it’s directed by Choi Daeman of Escape.
=…Is this the Seojun squad without Seojun?
=I was wondering if Seojun would make a surprise appearance, but he’s filming a different movie lol
=Too bad.
-The competition is going to be fierce next year.
=I agree. Whatever you do, you should probably avoid releasing against Lee Seojun’s project and ‘Hanpan’.
=What’s the title of Seojun’s movie?
=Doesn't seem to have been decided yet.
-Ooooh! Marine Company’s new hero!
=They must be promoting it a ton. It's all over TV and the posters are everywhere.
=Well, it’s the start of a new phase that’s supposed to carry them for the next 10 years or so. The first movie has to do well for the other hero films that follow to be successful.
-Booked my ticket for opening day! Can’t wait to see it!
=Same! Gotta go on the first day to avoid spoilers!
Jiseok hyung, Jongho samchon, and Director Choi Daeman were making a movie together, and Marine Company was releasing a new hero film.
“I wonder what kind of movies they’ll be.”
Both *Hanpan* and *Phantom*.
Seojun checked his schedule, wondering when he could go see the movies. His friends said they were going on Saturday, but he wasn't sure if his filming would be done by then.
*You never know what might happen.*
The weather could be fickle, or filming could be halted because of crowds.
Just as he was wondering when would be a good time, he heard Kim Hanseok's voice.
“Seojun hyung! I got my parents’ permission!”
“You did? Shall we go, then?”
“Yes!”
***
Placing his bag on the floor, Kim Hanseok sat down in a chair and looked around in awe.
“Man, no matter how many times I see it, your practice room is no joke, hyung.”
One wall was entirely covered in mirrors, the interior was immaculate, and cameras were mounted here and there. Who would ever think a private home would have a practice room like this?
Seojun brought over some juice and sat down, smiling at the continuously marveling Kim Hanseok.
“Have you read the script?”
“Yes. But I only had time to read it during my breaks, so I’ve only gotten through it once.”
“You barely get any breaks, so reading it even once is impressive.”
At Kim Hanseok’s words, Seojun nodded with a pleased smile.
“So, can you tell me how you felt about the character ‘Kwon Yoonchan’?”
“Uhm. Yes.”
After a moment’s thought, Kim Hanseok began to talk about his impression of ‘Kwon Yoonchan’ from reading the script. As he spoke, Seojun started writing something on a blank sheet of paper.
He wondered if it was an evaluation of him, which made him want to look and not want to look at the same time. Forcing his gaze away from the paper, Kim Hanseok finished sharing his thoughts on ‘Kwon Yoonchan’ and fell silent.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Really? For a single read-through, you’ve grasped it in quite a bit of detail.”
“Hehe.”
At Seojun’s praise, Kim Hanseok grinned, his face completely relaxed.
“Here, take this.”
Seojun handed the paper to Kim Hanseok.
Kim Hanseok, who had been smiling, looked down at the paper with a slightly tense expression. Contrary to his expectation of finding an evaluation of himself, the paper was filled with short and long sentences. There were single words, too.
*…They look like movie titles.*
“After listening to your analysis, Hanseok, I jotted down some works that feature characters with similar emotions.”
“...?”
“Dramas and feature films are too long, so these are mostly short films and independent films. This is a list of the ones I have scripts and videos for at home.”
Kim Hanseok looked down at the paper Seojun had given him again. There were well over twenty titles listed.
…He didn’t know what to be more surprised about.
Should he be surprised that Seojun knew all these independent films, that he owned the videos and scripts, that he remembered them all, or that he remembered not just the films but the specific characters within them?
“Seojun hyung. You remember all of these?”
“Yeah. I watch the interesting ones multiple times.”
*I don't think that's the point…*
Swallowing the words he couldn't bring himself to say, Kim Hanseok tilted his head.
“But why are you giving this to me?”
“We’re going to watch them now.”
Kim Hanseok blinked at Seojun’s words.
“As we watch, let’s analyze what’s different from Kwon Yoonchan, what’s the same, and how other actors portrayed those similar points. It’ll be fun, right?”
Seojun said with a gentle smile, and Kim Hanseok’s eyes twitched.
***
After watching four short independent films, Seojun and Kim Hanseok took a short break, eating the snacks Seo Eunhye had prepared for them.
Thanks to the sugar from the roll cake, Kim Hanseok felt his dazed mind slowly start to work again.
“…Watching movies analytically is really draining.”
On top of that, having to constantly compare everything to ‘Kwon Yoonchan’ made it even harder.
Kim Hanseok looked at the papers in his hand. They were copies of the scripts from the independent films they had just watched, filled with the analyses he and Seojun had made while viewing them.
From the actor’s fingertips to the tips of their toes, Seojun would ask, and Hanseok would have to answer. There were no right answers, which made it both easy and difficult.
“Really?”
*I thought it was fun.*
Unable to say that to the exhausted-looking Hanseok, Seojun just shifted his gaze.
“I don’t think I even studied this hard for school exams.”
If he had studied like this, getting first place in the entire school would have been no problem. The thought was so absurd that Kim Hanseok let out a chuckle.
After they had refueled and rested for a bit, Seojun spoke.
“Shall we get back to analyzing?”
“Yes!”
Seeing Kim Hanseok pick up his pen and look at the screen, Seojun smiled faintly. Despite how hard it must be, Hanseok hadn't complained once, and Seojun could see his desire to do well.
*Maybe I should help him out a little.*
A gentle, warm energy flowed from Seojun and enveloped Kim Hanseok’s body. Instantly, the fatigue on Hanseok's face began to fade.
***
After having dinner at Seojun’s house, Kim Hanseok got out of the car. He bowed to Lee Minjun in the driver's seat and then to Seojun, who had also gotten out.
“Thank you for the ride. Get home safe, Seojun hyung.”
“Wait a second. Hanseok, take this.”
Seojun handed Kim Hanseok a bag. Its considerable weight made Hanseok’s expression turn to one of surprise.
“What’s this?”
“I gathered some scripts I think would be good for you to read.”
“...What?”
“Read as many as you can and write reports on them. Just like when we watched the movies earlier, write them in relation to Kwon Yoonchan. You can write about the similarities and differences between other characters and Kwon Yoonchan, or you can write about what Kwon Yoonchan would have done in that situation.”
Seojun said with a bright smile, and Kim Hanseok froze on the spot.
Seeing the two boys, Lee Minjun couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
“The shoot is on Friday, so let’s finish the character analysis by tomorrow and spend the other two days practicing your acting.”
The sheer weight of the homework made Kim Hanseok break out in a cold sweat.
***
Thursday, the day before the shoot.
Having finished his character analysis and started full-fledged acting practice on Wednesday, Kim Hanseok was slumped over his desk.
His friends shook their heads. Yesterday, he had brought a mountain of scripts, reading and writing reports during every break and lunch. Today, he was collapsed as if his soul had left his body.
“Kim Hanseok. You alive?”
“...No…”
“Is practicing with your sunbaenim that hard?”
At his friend's question, Kim Hanseok lifted his head.
“Every time I act, he asks, ‘What were you thinking? If that feeling intensified, what emotion would it become? Even in the same situation, how would Kwon Yoonchan feel?’ I’ve never thought about things in so much detail before, so… answering is really hard.”
Seojun was trying his best to draw out Kim Hanseok’s own thoughts.
Seojun’s analysis was his own. Since it was Hanseok’s performance, Hanseok needed his own analysis.
To help Hanseok move beyond a surface-level reading of the script and dig deeper, Seojun had bombarded him with questions about every posture, every line.
“And there are no set answers.”
Over the past two days, watching other actors’ performances had shown him the variety of ways a single emotion could be expressed.
Seojun had made it clear that it was entirely up to Hanseok to decide which of those expressions most resembled ‘Kwon Yoonchan,’ what aspects to emphasize, and what parts to change.
“But if you’re in such a rush, wouldn’t it be better for him to just act it out and you copy him? I mean, it’s his acting, so it’d obviously be amazing.”
“Seojun hyung wouldn’t like that.”
Kim Hanseok said, shaking his head.
They say imitation is the mother of creation, but that would just be mimicry.
*And I don’t want to do that, either.*
After a moment of thought, another kid spoke up.
“Besides, I don’t think that’s even possible. After watching *The Survivors*, who here thinks they could act like Lee Hyunwoo?”
“True. No way.”
At that, the kids nodded in immediate agreement.
Kim Hanseok chuckled and opened his mouth.
“Anyway, the shoot is tomorrow, so practice ends today.”
“That’s a relief.”
“You’re going to see *Phantom* after your shoot, right?”
“Kim Hanseok! Lee Seojun-sunbaenim is here!”
Just as he was about to answer his friend’s question, Kim Hanseok shot up from his seat. The eyes of all the first-years turned toward the classroom door.
Seojun was smiling and waving.
“Hyung! What’s going on?”
“The shoot was postponed by a day.”
“...What?”
Kim Hanseok blinked at Seojun’s words.
The shoot was tomorrow, but it got pushed back a day?
As Seojun’s words sank in, Kim Hanseok’s jaw dropped.
“So today, we’re going to practice somewhere else. I’d given up on it because I didn’t think we’d have time, but this is great, right?”
As Seojun spoke with a gentle smile, Kim Hanseok’s pupils trembled violently.
Watching the scene unfold, the other kids put their hands together and prayed for Kim Hanseok, whose practice had just been extended by another day.
***
“I wonder if Seojun and Hanseok have arrived yet.”
The movie theater was bustling with people.
The faces of those waiting for the movie to start were filled with anticipation. Seeing everyone holding the same poster, it seemed they were all waiting for the same film. The students of Mirinae Arts High were no different.
At Kang Jaehan’s words, Kim Jookyung spoke up.
“The set is in Busan, so they went down last night. They’re probably starting filming today.”
“Didn’t they say the shoot was on Friday?”
Today was Saturday, which was why the students were able to come see the movie.
Yang Juhee answered Han Jiho’s question.
“It got pushed back a day.”
“Really?”
“That’s why Hanseok looked like he was half-dead…”
The students snickered at Kim Jookyung’s comment.
The one-day delay in filming meant one more day of practice with Seojun.
“Seojun is strict when it comes to acting, after all.”
“But he can be a softie, too.”
Everyone knew that Seojun was strict with actors who were lazy, but gentle with those who loved to act.
“The practice must be tough, but he’ll gain a lot from it.”
“I never knew there were so many movies in the world. They even watched foreign films.”
“And Seojun even subtitled them himself.”
As the students chuckled, the voice of a theater employee reached their ears.
“Theater 3, the screening of ‘Phantom’ will begin shortly! Ticket holders, please make your way inside.”
At the employee’s announcement, the gathered crowd began to rise. From young children who looked to be in elementary school to adults who seemed to be office workers, no one could hide their excitement.
Today was the premiere of *Phantom*, Marine Company’s new hero and the first film of their second phase.
“Let’s head in, too.”
“Yeah.”
Filled with anticipation, the students entered the theater.
“Think it’ll be good?”
“It has to be. It’s the first movie to kick off a new series.”
“You think Seojun will watch it in Busan?”
“Probably, right?”
The students found their seats as printed on their tickets and fell silent as the theater lights slowly dimmed.
Soon, the emergency exit video played, and then the screen went completely black.
The Marine Company logo appeared in the center of the screen.
Two hours later.
The doors to Theater 3 swung open. People who had seen the movie were filing out one by one.
Those waiting outside studied the expressions of the people coming out.
Would they be marveling at a flawless performance like with *Red-Born*, stunned by the directing like with *Green Wing*, or bursting into tears like with *Shadowman*?
Watching the audience’s reactions after the movie was part of the fun of seeing a Marine Company film.
“...Huh?”
Song Yoojeong and Im Yena, who had been chatting about the *Phantom* review that would appear in *Filmgoer* in a few weeks while waiting for the next showing, blinked in confusion.
Contrary to their expectations of intense reactions, the audience emerging from the theater seemed… ambivalent.
*They’re so… quiet, aren’t they?*
For a movie from Marine Company, the master of post-credit scenes that left you begging for the next installment, the audience’s reaction was far too subdued. It didn’t seem like they thought it was bad, but a strange sense of disappointment hung in the air.
Song Yoojeong and Im Yena’s eyes met. A sudden sense of unease washed over them.
Glancing back at Theater 3, where *Phantom* had just been playing, Han Jiho scratched his cheek.
“It was fun, but… maybe I expected too much?”
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